Sorry for no updates in a long time. We just returned from a three-week trip to Italy, and the lead-up to the trip was just incredibly busy not only packing but just in life in general.
Not to make this a travel blog suddenly, but I did want to share a few photos from our trip. We spent about three weeks, splitting our time between three places: the Dolomites region, Cinque Terre, and Sabaudia, a small coastal town south of Rome.
Our main purpose for traveling is religious—we observe an annual biblical festival called the Feast of Tabernacles every fall, which we keep by traveling somewhere for eight days to gather with others and worship. This year we chose to travel to Italy to be with our Italian brothers and sisters, as well as other visitors from all over the world. So, that’s why we stayed the last half of the trip in Sabaudia.
The first half the trip, we split in half: 5 days we stayed in Siusi in the Dolomites region, and 5 days we stayed in Monterosso, the northernmost village of Cinque Terre.
We absolutely loved the Dolomites. Our Airbnb was amazing, the people were all very nice, everything was kid-friendly, the food was this great mix of Austrian and Italian, and we saw some of the most breathtaking scenery I’ve ever witnessed. One of the best things is some of those amazing scenes are so easy to get to, like the stroller-friendly roads and trails up in the high plateau of Alpe di Siusi, or the cable car in Ortisei that takes you straight to the amazing views of Seceda. And everything and everybody was very kid-friendly, too (all Italians, everywhere, I should note, love babies, and ours was no exception).
We liked the small town we stayed in of Siusi—Rick Steves recommends staying in the next town over, Castelrotto, which has more going on and is a bit bigger. For more selection of restaurants, that’s probably a good idea. But Siusi is where the cable car up to Alpe di Siusi is, and everything is within walking distance. We rented a car (adventures in driving manual, something I only do when I’m in Italy renting a car!), which got us around everywhere, though there are bus routes throughout the region. It was nice to have a place to keep our stuff, though, when we went out for a day of doing things.
Cinque Terre was a major contrast—we came from cool mountain air in clean Austrian villages to warm coastal weather with full-blown Italian culture. Stepping off the train into Fegina, the newer part of Monterosso where the beach is, felt like stepping into a Mexican resort to be honest. But we enjoyed our time there, eating focaccia and pesto (both of which the Liguria region is known for), and doing lots and lots of walking. Actually we killed ourselves with the hikes here more than we did in the mountains.
And Sabaudia, what can I say—it’s a place probably no Americans ever go, but it’s got beautiful sandy beaches and is a short drive from Rome, and about 2.5 hours from Naples (where we went, ate amazing pizza at da Pellone, then hit up Herculaneum one afternoon).
We had one final day in Rome before flying home. We scheduled a family photo shoot, then met up with a friend who was also traveling in Italy for a Spritz, dinner and gelato. Walking around that city—even after three weeks of sometimes exhausting, grueling travel, being ready to come home—got my heart beating again and wanting to stay another week. The Pantheon took my breath away as usual, the cacio é pepe was excellent (even at the over priced tourist spot we ate at out of poor planning and desperation), and the gelato from Giolitti was outstanding (a recommendation Antonio Ciongoli had given me years ago that really paid off).
Our favorite city from all our travels to Italy so far is Florence (where I’m returning in January for a certain menswear trade show), but this time, the Eternal City put its hooks in me, calling to mind the very first Eidos collection five years ago, This Is Rome.
Even after the exhausting 10-hour journey home (with a baby, just turning on in-flight movies to pass the time is not an option), I’m already excited to return.
